The Elemental
by koalabearbare
Summary: Dumbledore was always scheming, Eris was proof of that. She trusted him rather blindly in it, but it had been over a month since she'd seen him, which should've been her first alarm. Now she was a prisoner of the dark, and at the mercy of the Dark Lord. But his plan for her is nothing close to what she expected. Rated M for later chapters.


Author's note: I'm not sure about this idea, I have been toying with it so please comment your thoughts on it, that would be much appreciated. This is my first story in like three years so this'll be interesting. As per the usual disclaimer, I own none of this content, the characters and so forth belong to J.K. Rowling.

Eris spent too much time contemplating the fact if she was truly mad, perhaps that was a bad sign in itself. But what was she supposed to do in the dark, nothingness of her current state? Now that sounded depressing, but it was an apt description. There was absolutely nothing else in the cubby of a room she had been left in. Well, as far as she could tell. It was impossible to see her hand if she put it right at the end of her nose. Occasionally she heard a distinct scurrying or scratch, often giving her the impression a small animal was moving about, but she had seen the house as she had been dragged in, and it certainly didn't seem like a place that would tolerate rats or any animal even in their makeshift prisons. Unless it was meant to torment her further, now that seems like something they would do. She didn't put it past them.

Sighing, she shifted into the corner of the room, leaning her head back against it. How long had it been since she was brought here? A month? A couple months? It was impossible to tell the passage of time in utter darkness. No sun rising or setting to keep track of days. It seemed they had practically forgotten about her since they found out they had no leverage over her, torturing didn't really seem to be proven effective unless they were willing to drive her mad- which they weren't- and she could shake off an Imperius curse. No one came to remove her from her cell since then. Even the young boy that brought her food seemed to come in irregularly and definitely less frequent.

Her stomach rumbled at the thought, an aching sensation consuming it. Eris tried to ignore it. Maybe they were starving her to get her guard down. As if she could be bought with food, she'd rather starve.

Sighing yet again, Eris closed her eyes and brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. A certain disbelief still lingered in her that she was in this position. She had known that the Dark Lord was gaining power. For her to be sought out and captured seemed a bit surreal. She had always wondered if he would come after her. Part of her had doubted it given his desire to seem powerful and alone. But she was an obstacle to him, someone he needed to take out of the way, and best to do it as quietly as possible. She wasn't even sure his followers that had captured her were aware of what she was.

That night felt far from reality. It had started off like any other night. Eris had been holed up in the cramped cottage on the east coast of Norfolk. She had wanted to sit out on the small deck overlooking the ocean, but it had been a dreary and drizzling day. The rain hadn't let up as the sun sank from the clouds to the ground. It became less clear to her as to whether her mood was causing the rain as it continued to pelt up against the windows.

She sat curled up in the living room, a cup of tea resting in its saucer on the side table next to her. She tucked her knees up to her chest, staring out the glass panes. It was far too dark now to see to the ocean, particularly in this weather, but she didn't need to see to know the ocean was more than restless tonight, the waves sharp and ragged, pouding the shore into repeated submission.

She was getting tired of being alone. She was doing this for her safety, but to what expense? She could be helping others and yet here she was, hiding. Dumbledore had asked her to remain so, to not get involved while the Ministry of Magic was in a rather precarious position. He had asked her to wait until it had fallen. It was a bit concerning that he was positive that it would fall. But if it did, then the government would not bother to prosecute her. She had seen what they had done to Sirius Black, it would not surprise her if the Ministry tried to pull something similar on her if they found out she existed. So for the time being she would wait here, waiting on any news on the current state of the war.

Dumbledore rarely visited her too. He had not come to bring her news in over a month. She understood he was a busy man, but to ask her to cut off all contact with the outside world and live by herself without communication was a little maddening. There certainly wasn't much to do around the cottage. Eris spent most of her time reading and in her thoughts or walking along the rocky shore whenever it wasn't storming. There was hardly a break in the rain anymore though, she assumed it to be either her gloomy disposition or Voldemort's terror on the country. Certainly the muggles would've noticed the change by now, part of her wondered what excuse they would be coming up with to dismiss it. Probably their all time favorite of climate change.

The fire flickered, threatening to die out, withdrawing down to its embers. Eris flicked her hand towards it and it roared back to life, a wave of heating immediately enveloping her as it filled the hearth again. But as quick as she had resuscitated it, it died once more, this time completely. Must be the storm, she dismissed it. But the hair on Eris's neck stood straight up, a chill encompassing her as darkness fell on the room. She sat still, closing her eyes, but all she could hear was the wind that threatened to rip stones from the cottage.

A blasting screech destroyed any semblance of silence. Eris barely had time to reel before she felt an odd pressure against her. Her body was tugged from the ground, then the room, suspended by a black mist, or what seemed to be part solid flesh and part vapor. Her head was tugged back by the sheer speed, the dark countryside ripping by below her. With ears still ringing from the alarm the intruders had set off and a dazed state, she knew she only had a second before they were across into apparating boundaries.

 _Fire._

That was her only thought. But an explosion erupted between her and the vapor a loud hiss was elicited as she was torn from it. The flames lit up the night and heat distinctly swaddled her. She was tossed yet again, free falling now towards the earth, her vision dimming as a pressure crushed her body.

Eris didn't remember hitting the ground, although she was sure the impact was significant because when she came to, her whole being ached profusely. It was the pain that dragged her back to consciousness. She was hanging almost lifelessly in the arms of someone quite large she was sure. Every lumbering step they took, every jostle, set sparks shooting through her nerves. She felt like a limp voodoo doll being squeezed mercilessly and stabbed by a thousand needles at once. Someone really had it out for her.

"The Dark Lord would like her in the drawing room." The soft voice filled her ears soothingly. Eris's eyes fluttered open. The sight of a rather meak woman greeted her. Her thin lips were pulled taught as she grimaced, gazing over Eris. Her eyes were hollow, all emotion drained from them and what seemed to have been previously blue eyes an exhausted stone-washed grey. A twitch escaped her lips as it seemed she struggled to say something. She failed to say it as Eris was carried past her. Falling in step, the woman followed her captors through the hall.

Eris let her eyes close again. This was obviously the Death Eater bunch, seeing as they all were wearing rather prude and draping uniforms of black robes. But how? Dumbledore had been the secret keeper to her little cottage, so how could they have gotten in? She highly doubted he would've given her up or told anyone about her, would he? But that wasn't really her concern now. What exactly planning to do with her was the question. Would the Dark Lord want her dead? Would he try to convince her to join their side? Torture her otherwise? Nothing was sounding exactly pleasant. But she had expected as much. It was a risk of living for her.

"Set her down and leave. All of you. Rowle, wait outside." The hissing voice ordered sharply.

Unceremoniously, Eris was dumped on the table, eliciting a grunt from her. There was some shuffling as the Death Eaters left. Her eyes unsealed and what filled her view was immense displeasure. It seemed like a cross between a skeleton and some form of serpent. It had pale ivory skin stretched over thin bones. Slits of eyes stared back at her, sunken in their rather hollow skull. Eris didn't try and lift her head from the table. She was hardly staying off passing out, resisting was not a possibility.

"Miss Fawley, a pleasure to finally meet you." The Dark Lord greeted. He walked around the end of the table towards her. Eris watched him half heartedly. "I assume you are smart enough to realize that you cannot leave this place." He walked towards her, pulling something from his pocket. Eris didn't flinch as he walked behind her. "Such power and such waste." Eris waited, well it didn't seem like he was inclined to torture her. Although the alternative didn't seem much better. Would he really try to kill her?

A second passed and instead she felt his cold fingers around the back of her neck, Eris flinched, shivers running down her spine and across her back. She didn't move as she let him move her hair slightly, as repulsive as it was. Something cold draped across her neck. A necklace? Really?

"The necklace is an old creation of the Ministry, used to block elemental powers from being expressed. The Ministry used it on elementals to keep them docile before execution, something your father would have known quite well." He explained and Eris winced at the last part. Had her father really been executed wearing this? "It shall do until I decide your fate." So she wasn't out of the clear, wonderful.

Eris didn't try to move, knowing her body would protest that immensely. The Dark Lord must've opened the door behind her once more. "Rowle, take our new prisoner to the separate cell." He instructed and a second later Eris was scooped up again. Her head lulled and eyes closed.

When she regained consciousness, she had been placed in the stone cell and had been there ever since. She was quite sure she had lost a bit of herself in the darkness.

Letting her arms fall, Eris sighed. She had gotten quite good at sleeping for long periods of time or she thought. Everything was hard to tell now. Part of her wondered if they'd ever let her out. Maybe they were just going to hide her for the entirety of the war. Seemed dubious, but who could predict the Dark Lord? He was irrational and ill prepared at best.

A beam of light fell into the room, immediately scorching her eyes, but she stared at it anyways. Her eyes slowly started to adjust as the beam widened, the door swinging fully open. The pale boy was back, his skin almost translucent in the light, shimmering ever so slightly. He looked like a ghost, his suit hanging off his thin frame. He stepped inside the room and Eris noticed he wasn't carrying the normal tray in his hands.

"The Dark Lord has decided what to do with you."


End file.
